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In the first six months of this year, Lexus sold 18,265 ES sedans in the U.S. — nearly a 9 percent increase over the same period in 2011 and by far the most of any car in its lineup (only the RX crossover outsells it). Since the model’s introduction in 1989, the faithful have loved this buttoned-down four-door and their ardor is sure to bloom even more this month, as the Japanese maker releases a new, sixth-generation version — including a first-ever hybrid.

Sales hit? Guaranteed. Cheers and lust from all of you reading this? Not a chance.

The ES has always been — and, it turns out, continues to be — the internal-combustion equivalent of Top 40 hit from The Carpenters: pleasant enough, masterfully executed…and almost offensively innocuous. The enthusiast driver will find almost nothing to latch his soul to here. The Lexus brass monitoring the sales charts doubtless couldn’t care less; for buyers in search of slip-on status, the ES’s relative affordability, proven quality, and look-what-I’m-driving “L” on its hood ensure this machine will fly off sale floors like a rocket-fueled iPad. Still, given that Lexus is now touting a high-drama, $375,000 LFA supercar, who could blame us for expecting some of that DNA to trickle, BMW-like, into everything the company makes?

Two major changes dominate the ES story for 2013. First is the replacement of the previous Camry platform with the bigger Avalon’s. Result: the new ES is a truly substantial car with more than four inches of added legroom in the rear seat. It’s like a racquetball court back there; so huge, passengers emit giggles and “wows!” as they pile in and stretch their legs in unexpected splendor. “ECHO!…Echo!…echo!…Now batting for Pedro Borbon, Manny Mota… Mota…Mota…” A 1.6-inch boost in overall length helps bump up trunk room a bit, too.

The other major departure from the previous ES recipe is the addition of a hybrid powertrain. The new ES 300h model borrows its 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle four and continuously variable transmission almost unchanged from the Camry Hybrid. Peak output is the same 200 horsepower, too. As before, a “regular” ES 350 sports a carried-over 268-horsepower 3.5-liter gas V-6 with six-speed automatic.

If you’ve seen the new Lexus GS that hit dealerships earlier this year, you’ll note a familiar styling theme in the new ES. Most notable is a grille as large and prominent as an Audi‘s, albeit folded and creased in the middle like an origami hourglass (our recent review of the GS decided the face resembled Ah-nold’s Predator). Still, most onlookers who commented on our ES test cars seemed to love the look. For sure, the new design offers far more surface excitement — that grille, brawny wheel arches, an artful C-pillar — than the outgoing loaf of milquetoast.

Inside is an even more welcome makeover. While the previous car’s cabin had all the pizzazz of a Holiday Inn Express, the new ES evokes some cues worthy of a boutique hotel. The optional nav system’s display, for instance, resides in its own dramatic swoosh of dash above the main controls. The available Remote Touch system incorporates a mouse-like controller to access the screen. It’s workable enough, but lacks the visual finesse of, say, Audi’s MMI system. Frustratingly, the system locks out numerous functions (even many radio presets) while the vehicle is in motion. Maybe Lexus is doing many of us a favor by forcing ES drivers to pull over before they attempt to mouse. Then again, at speed, even co-pilots are barred from making inputs.

The standard V-6 is a seasoned champ, frisky enough to serve in the Lotus Evora sports car. It’s potent, smooth, and makes an aggressive yowl under a heavy foot. In the ES 350, there’s enough grunt to reach 60 mph in six seconds flat, the six-speed automatic snapping off shifts as if it’s a graduate of the University of Idyllic Torque Management, but don’t for a moment think this is an athletic car. Steering feel is…well, there isn’t any. Though the ratio has been quickened for the new car (from 16.1:1 to 14.8), it’s still glacial in response. Worse is the lack of feedback; the wheel offers little sense of the road beneath or building cornering forces. Perhaps that’s because there aren’t many cornering forces to detect: both cars delivered just 0.76 g of grip. An automobile doesn’t need lofty performance limits to be entertaining (VW‘s GTI is no F1 car, but it’s a blast to gun across a twisting road), but the ES resolutely shrugs off any attempts at driving enthusiasm. It’s almost unbelievable that this machine and the LFA (not to mention the GS 350 F Sport and the IS F) wear the same badge.

You might forgive such a humdrum personality if the ES were a virtuoso of cushiness. The very first Lexus LS 400, after all, blitzed the luxury-sedan market not with dazzling track stats but by enveloping its occupants in a cloud of comfort and refinement unprecedented for its price class. Not so the new ES. Amazingly, neither version rides particularly well. The ES 300h has a semblance of a defense: for maximum mpg — its raison d’etre — it sits on hard, low-rolling-resistance Michelins. Curiously, though, our ES 350 test car wore the same 17-inch rubber bricks. An 18-inch all-season tire is optional on the ES 350 and might soften the ride a tad, but it’s hard to imagine anyone describing this sedan as “plush.” Tire noise intruding on the cockpit is an issue, too. That’s the really unpardonable sin here: no DNA from the LFA, but not enough from the LS 460 either.

Though we might not have predicted as much going into this review, after driving both ES models back-to-back it’s the hybrid ES 300h that comes off as the far more appealing car. It’s not as quick as the V-6 — the run to 60 mph takes a leisurely 7.6 seconds — but in around-town driving its instant-torque electric motors and seamless CVT make it feel livelier (despite the hybrid weighing 161 pounds more than the ES 350). A silly feature, standard on both cars, dubbed Drive Mode Select allows the driver to choose eco, normal, or sport settings to alter the response of the throttle and power steering assist. In the ES 350, you’d be hard-pressed to notice much difference between any of the three, but in the ES 300h the sport setting really juices-up the throttle; the car fairly leaps away from stoplights. In sport, the hybrid’s main dash displays a tachometer — which takes some getting used to for the first few stoplights as the needle suddenly plops to zero. While the hybrid is capable of running in full-electric mode for short periods, doing so requires a delicate right foot — and keeping the speedo below 25 mph.

Of course, the hybrid trumps the V-6 model on economy: 40/39 city/highway mpg versus 21/31. That taken into consideration, the ES 300h really is a standout: a luxuriously appointed, hugely spacious sedan that returns 40 miles per gallon in urban settings — nearly double that of its V-6 sibling. True, the four-cylinder gas engine in the ES 300h can’t match the ES 350’s six for silkiness, but it’s respectable. Overall, the hybrid simply comes off as the more modern and engaging machine.

Lexus claims the base price of the 2013 ES 350 ($36,995 including destination) is 1.7 percent lower than the car it replaces. Which is true, except that’s a bit like comparing leather apples to cloth oranges. Such niceties as leather seats, a power tilt/telescoping wheel, driver-seat memory, and wood trim are no longer standard (our test car had all of them as part of a $1370 Luxury Package). Add navigation and high-gloss alloy wheels, and our ES 350 totaled $41,325.

The ES 300h carries a $2750 premium over its “regular” twin, in return delivering crisper city responsiveness, far fewer visits to the pump, and the knowledge that you’re demanding a little less of Mother Earth than the driver of the ES 350 (some might consider that worth it, others not). Outfitted with navigation, Mark Levinson premium audio, and the Ultra Luxury Package (leather, climate-control seats, park assist, etc.) our test car climbed to $45,050.

Nope, the new ES doesn’t wow us. In fact, in many respects it’s downright disappointing, an uninspired effort, beneath what Lexus is clearly capable of. Not that Lexus will care. For its intended audience, the company has likely hit the bull’s eye, building a car the faithful will see as better in every way.
For us, though, the 2013 ES is a target that doesn’t merit our aim.

Safety (IIHS)

2013 Lexus ES350 News and Reviews

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